Today’s top scoring link on the r/Politics page is contributed by the Denver Westword Blogs site. Covering the controversial issue of the legalization of marijuana, it charts the growing support for Amendment 64, the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act. Mason Tvert, member of the Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation group, is featured as the main instigator behind this act, and is quoted throughout the article expressing his enthusiasm and optimism at the broad coalition of support he feels is surrounding the measure. The blog post reports on the support show from the Denver Republican Assembly as well as Denver and Colorado Democratic Parties. The whole article is very positive about the future of the amendment (perhaps misleadingly so?) and ends on a high with Tvert reportedly being optimistic about future political support for the legalization of marijuana.

The liberal ideals in this link are arguably compatible with the political leanings of many redditors, Reddit being a largely liberal, or at least anti-conservative, community. This compatibility and the argument expressed in the content, the legalization of weed, could explain its popularity on the r/politics page today. Many of the 775 comments reflect the article’s message, with redditors supporting the amendment. There is a lot of interaction with this link in the form of people discussing the realization of the act, the lobbying process and practical stumbling blocks like opposition from anti-cannabis lobbyists, tobacco companies etc. Comments also share personal research done by redditors as to different parties’ and individual’s standpoints. All in all this seems to be an issue redditors are interested in!

Standing at number 2 today is an article published on the Salon website, detailing Romney’s first foray into the general election campaign, with the challenger criticizing Obama on lack of transparency. The article highlights the irony of this remark considering Romney’s own avoidance of committing himself to any specific policies throughout his campaign trail so far.

The main part of the article is a gleeful recounting of Romney’s embarrassing move on Sunday night. Giving a speech at a private fundraiser, he outlined specific details about the policies he would follow in office, accidentally spilling all to the reporters listening outside. The article mentions some of these policies, including his plan to ‘get’ Hispanic voters. His is reported as admitting his own purposeful lack of transparency to avoid alienating voters, and the article finishes by smugly pointing out that if he wishes to achieve this same strategy he’s accusing Obama of using… maybe he shouldn’t inadvertently announce it to the whole world.

This article seems to be part of a trend I notice growing of political articles on r/Politics poking fun at or criticizing anything Republican, particularly Romney. However, many of the 889 comments provoked by this link are cynical, supporting the idea that if you want to get public support, dishonesty is the best policy. One redditor posted this contribution which sums up the general feeling nicely. Thoughtful debates are also generated about the voting demographic in the US, drug prohibition and the political positions of the Left and Right and what they stand for.

The third top scoring link of today is a Reuters article reporting on Obama’s failure to bring the Buffett rule through the Senate. Defeated with only 51 for, it failed to gain the 60 votes needed to move it to a vote. In what’s being billed as an ideological tug-of-war, Obama’s legislation (named after the billionaire Warren Buffett) to put a minimum 30% tax on the rich was blocked by Republicans, setting the stage for the debates on tax policy which are predicted to come hard and fast over the next few months.

With very different policies on tax and how to tackle the deficit, Reuters reports Republican accusations that Obama is initiating class warfare. However, the article suggests that Obama’s defeated bill may be reflecting the opinion of the people, as a US poll has reported that 60% of Americans think the wealthy pay too little in tax.

This link obviously touches on controversial ground, incorporating class, the deficit, economic recovery, Republican versus Democratic ideology and the upcoming election amongst the issues covered. This is reflected in the high number of responses generated, with 1995 comments at the time of reading. Responses include recalling the tax policies of previous administrations, people’s opinions on whether these were effective or not and what the current policy means for American taxpayers. There is also criticism of both Republican and Democratic actions about point scoring rather than committing to genuine strategies.